The Three Musketeers (Translated by Richard Pevear) - Alexandre Dumas [231]
Athos looked at his watch.
“Gentlemen,” he said, “we’ve been here an hour, and now the bet is won. But we must be good sports. Besides, d’Artagnan hasn’t told us his idea yet.”
And the musketeer, with his usual coolheadedness, went to sit down before the remains of the lunch.
“My idea?” asked d’Artagnan.
“Yes, you were saying that you had an idea,” replied Athos.
“Ah, I’ve got it!” d’Artagnan picked up. “I go over to England a second time, find M. de Buckingham, and warn him of the plot on his life that’s being hatched.”
“That you will not do, d’Artagnan,” Athos said coldly.
“And why not? Haven’t I already done it once?”
“Yes, but at that time we were not at war; at that time, M. de Buckingham was an ally and not an enemy. What you want to do would qualify as treason.”
D’Artagnan understood the force of this argument and fell silent.
“But,” said Porthos, “it seems to me that I also have an idea.”
“Silence for M. Porthos’s idea!” said Aramis.
“I ask M. de Tréville for a leave of absence, under some pretext that you will come up with—pretexts are not my strong point. Milady doesn’t know me. I approach her without alarming her, and when I have my beauty, I strangle her.”
“Well, now,” said Athos, “I’m pretty close to adopting Porthos’s idea!”
“Fie on it!” said Aramis. “Killing a woman! No, wait, I’ve got a real idea.”
“Let’s have your idea, Aramis!” demanded Athos, who showed great deference towards the young musketeer.
“We must warn the queen.”
“Ah, yes, by heaven!” Porthos and d’Artagnan cried together. “I think we’ve hit upon the way!”
“Warn the queen?” asked Athos. “And how will we do that? Do we have any connections at court? Can we send somebody to Paris without the camp knowing it? It’s a hundred and forty leagues from here to Paris. Our letter won’t have reached Angers before we’re all locked up.”
“As for having a letter delivered safely to Her Majesty,” proposed Aramis, blushing, “I can take care of that. I know a clever person in Tours…”
Aramis stopped on seeing Athos smile.
“Well, so you wouldn’t adopt this method, Athos?” asked d’Artagnan.
“I don’t reject it entirely,” said Athos, “but I’d merely like to point out to Aramis that he can’t leave camp; that anyone other than one of us is unsafe; that, two hours after the messenger leaves, every trusty, every alguazil, every black cap of the cardinal’s will know your letter by heart, and they’ll arrest you and your clever person.”
“Not to mention,” objected Porthos, “that the queen will save M. de Buckingham, but she’s not going to save the rest of us.”
“Gentlemen,” said d’Artagnan, “Porthos’s objection is sensible.”
“Aha! What’s going on in town now?” asked Athos.
“They’re beating the call to arms.”
The four friends listened, and the sound of the drum did in fact reach them.
“You’ll see, they’re going to send a whole regiment against us,” said Athos.
“You don’t count on holding out against a whole regiment, do you?” asked Porthos.
“Why not?” said the musketeer. “I feel up to it, and I’d hold out against a whole army, if only we’d had the foresight to bring a dozen bottles more.”
“I think the drum is coming closer,” said d’Artagnan.
“Let it come,” said Athos. “It’s a quarter of an hour distance from here to town, and therefore from town to here. That’s more than enough time for us to draw up our plan. If we leave here, we’ll never find so convenient a place. Wait, gentlemen, the right idea has just come to me.”
“Say it, then.”
“Let me give Grimaud a few indispensable orders.”
Athos made a sign for his valet to approach.
“Grimaud,” said Athos, pointing to the dead men lying about in the bastion, “you’re going to take these gentlemen, you’re going to stand them up against the wall, and you’re going to put their hats on their heads and their guns in their hands.”
“Oh, you great man,” cried d’Artagnan, “I understand you!”
“You understand?” asked Porthos.
“And you, Grimaud, do you understand?” asked Aramis.
Grimaud made a sign that he did.
“That’s